Kanga took us to sea

John has wanted to go to sea since we bought Kanga. I've been...er...slightly more reluctant.

The North Sea. Big, bad, scary, and to be ventured to in a ferry, as far as I was concerned.

Well. We planned and plotted, and picked our day. Reasonable breezes, good tides, and no weather to speak of.

Here we are, going past Felixstowe port - you can see the sea out ahead of us.

We managed to get all the way out of the mouth of the river, and were looking back at Felixstowe. It was odd to be on the other side of it!

Our expert helmsman (with lens flare):

It was startling how all you can see is horizon. I thought the container ships made me feel small...this was MUCH more impressive.

And a shot up at the sail, in the clear blue skies. Was this summer? Is it late? Will there be more next weekend?

Special thanks to Husband (who instigated the trip) and Father-In-Law, who said we should be back by 5 (the winds have REALLY picked up).

Wet Bank Holiday Weekend

Well, it's England. In August. And we just had the August Bank Holiday weekend. Therefore, it rained. Between the showers, we visited Melford Hall (and met the original Jemima Puddleduck). Gorgeous countryside, but we still like Kentwell better.

I also went to Walsham le Willows' annual open gardens day. Again, with the rain. Between the showers, I got some great pictures.

And when it wasn't raining, I was snacking. Lunch: leftover spinach, sauteed, with melted blue cheese on a panini. YUM.

Cheesecake

Last week, I had a hankering for cheesecake. John didn't eat cheesecake for years (mostly because of the whole lactose-intolerant thing), but since we found Lactofree cream cheese, there's nothing between us and amazing cheesecake.

I saw the recipe for Berry Shortbread Cheesecake in the August Good Food, and had to make it. My only quibble is that they made it in a loaf tin, rather than in a loose-bottomed pie pan. I have NO idea how they got it out of the loaf tin looking like it does on the website. Mine came out, er, in a blob. Looks lovely with raspberries on the top and tasted delicious, but a 0/10 for presentation. Did I miss something? I lined the tin with parchment paper and everything...

The fruit at the supermarket (and from our back yard, thank you, raspberries) has been delicious. I love the "ripen at home" peaches and nectarines. YUM. With blueberries. And icing sugar. Because John accidentally topped up the sugar bowl with icing sugar, so now it's a silly half-and-half mix that we need to use up before we can start over. Poor me.

Gooseberries for me!

Last year, sawfly ate my gooseberries. This year, I am eating my gooseberries. With help from John and my work buddies, that is. I used BBC Good Food's recipe for gooseberry & almond streusel squares, and substituted some of the flour with a handful of oatmeal. It made it a little closer to crumble, although I think next time I'd use a little more liquid in the mixture because it didn't hold in bars at all. It was exceedingly tasty, though.

The dry ingredients, all ready to be mixed:

The crumble mixture and the gooseberries:

Layers 1 & 2:

Look at those gooseberries!

First raspberries

I finished The Postmistress today - I liked the writing and found the descriptions very vivid, especially London during the Blitz. The storyline was a little predictable, though. I think the atmosphere of the book will stay with me for a while, while the characters and plot fade.

I tried to start W.G. Sebald's The Rings Of Saturn after reading about it in the New York Times (it's "set" in Suffolk), but I read the first chapter and completely lost interest. I have been known to ramble randomly, but I didn't put it in a book. NEXT!

Raspberries, below, from the garden. Yum. Oh, and I have managed to find an Ingrid Michaelson album that I like - I have downloaded Everybody and it is on semi-repeat. She's like Kate Rusby in that her voice falls in a similar range to mine and her songs are quite melodic, so she is very lovely to sing along to.

It must be summer

The only reason these green Birkenstocks didn't come home with me then and there is because the shop was closed. I may not be able to resist if they're open.

This morning's breakfast (along with blueberry pancakes and little sausages):

It's cloudy, cool, and might rain later. Must be (English) summer!

Land of the 10pm Sun

OK, so it's not the midnight sun, but it'll have to do. Unless you live under a rock, you'll know that yesterday was solstice/the first day of summer/etc. Which never seemed like a big deal in NY, but here in northern Europe I find I really notice it. Last night we were zonked and went to bed at 10pm, and it was still light out. Dusky, but light. Glorious.

James is using his new Mets towel tonight (thanks, M & D) - he requested it specially and is v. psyched about it. 'Uncle Ed' had one when he was about the same age - Grandma bought us two - Mets and Yankees. It's a venerable tradition.

I'm feeling like I've turned a corner at work (which I'm always reluctant to blog about). I'm starting to really get a solid handle on my new job, although it's still crazy busy. Hopefully it'll calm down some more once I get grease on some more wheels.

I'm 'between books' again - I've started 19 Minutes (Jodi Picoult) but I can't seem to get in to it. I enjoyed Bill Bryson's Walk In The Woods, a few weeks ago, and I have Dorothy Sayers' Nine Tailors (Mom's recommendation) waiting for me at the library tomorrow.

I also splurged and ordered TWO craft books on Amazon (eek!) - I got an email that they've shipped today so they should be at the office on Monday. The books, if you're interested, are Simple Sewing and Bend The Rules Sewing. I can't wait!